What Do You Want Me To Do For You?

As He drew near Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the road begging. Hearing a crowd passing by, he inquired what this meant. “Jesus the Nazarene is passing by,” they told him.

So he called out,“Jesus, Son of David,have mercy on me!” Then those in front told him to keep quiet,but he kept crying out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Jesus stopped and commanded that he be brought to Him. When he drew near, He asked him, “What do you want Me to do for you?”     Luke 18:35-41 (HCSB)

This may be the story that Mark tells in his gospel (10:46-52) and calls the man, Bartimaeus. It’s a good story. It’s a story that I can put myself right into.

I am sitting and begging for help. People pass me by. They don’t even hear me because there is so much going on in their own lives. I am blind on where to go and what to do next. I cannot find my way out of – a situation, depression, an addiction – so many times in my life I have been blind and lost.

And so I call out to Jesus. I fall to my knees. I weep. I cry, “Jesus! Help me!” I even remember a time when I felt that I shouldn’t cry out but just wait – Jesus loved me and He would see my need. I didn’t need to yell. I should just quietly have faith that God will answer.

[Note to self: One of Satan’s trademark ways to work is to take a truth of God and twist it just a little bit to make it not the complete truth of God! In this case, God knows my needs and yes, He will answer often before I even know I have a need. But prayer, or conversation with God, is for my benefit, not His. So call out to God, Jody! He is not offended as this story shows.]

And so Jesus hears my cry and says to me, “Jody, what do you want Me to do for you?” That’s the question. What do I want my LORD to do?

Bartimaeus did not make this complicated. He wanted to see. If he could see, he could move on the next step in his life. He would no longer have to beg.

Last night I was praying and then I read this story. I knew what I wanted. I wanted mercy. I told Jesus that I knew that I didn’t deserve another chance – but I was asking for it. And as surely as I was staring into His face, I felt Him smile. I believe I asked for the “right” thing.

“Receive your sight!”Jesus told him.“Your faith has healed you.” Instantly he could see, and he began to follow Him, glorifying God. All the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.     Luke 18:42-43

I don’t know exactly how Jesus gives me mercy. He just does and I am looking with great expectation as I follow Him and continue to watch and learn. And I will be giving Him all the praise!

Shout to the LORD written and sung by Darlene Zschech